Active Measures Discussion Thread

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Full Disclaimer: As a concerned U.S. citizen, I am starting this thread for a purpose: to inform others of the ongoing Active Measures being conducted against the United States and its citizens. I encourage others to do their own research, draw their own conclusions, and contribute to this thread if they wish.

If it’s okay with the moderators, I will periodically add to this thread with declassified documents, congressional testimony, studies from scholars, media reports, and my conclusions. I’ll try to limit it to two or so posts per day so as not to spam the board.

I’ve been researching this topic heavily since Comey testified on June 8th, 2017 and I’ve concluded the best way to combat this threat is to first acknowledge it’s occurring and to help others educate themselves to be able to defend against it.

While this topic is very unpleasant, it’s important not to get too scared about it. I’m not looking to start a Red Scare.

The more someone knows about Active Measures techniques and methods, the easier it is to defend against. Especially in the tech and social media sector.

Why did I choose the Anandtech political forum to start this thread?

I have done some threads on this topic on a conservative political forum based in Texas but I got banned due to being constantly being reported as a troll by the resident trump posters.

Because Active Measures is nonpartisan, I wanted to bring my findings and discussion to a more liberal political forum. On another forum, someone posted a link to Anandtech and described it as a liberal leaning. I investigated and it checked out, so here I am. As I’ve already been falsely accused here, I’m not being paid to post and I don’t work for the government. I work in the private sector and currently live in Louisiana.

But enough about me.

For starters, here is some recent literature and testimony on Active Measures:

U.S. v. Internet Research Agency, et al (1:18-cr-32, District of Columbia)
https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download



Senate Foreign Relations Report
https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/FinalRR.pdf


FULL: Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing On Russian Active Measures in 2016 Election 3/30/2017

That’s it for today, I’ll post some more tomorrow.

 

[Cr0nJ0b]

It might help to have a short summary of what you are talking about here? Just a general, what is Active measures, what does it mean, who is involved or implicated, who are the targets, and what they means to the average reader. Basically a TL: DR for those that can't click on the links and do the initial study.

 

[Hugo Stiglitz]

It might help to have a short summary of what you are talking about here? Just a general, what is Active measures, what does it mean, who is involved or implicated, who are the targets, and what they means to the average reader. Basically a TL: DR for those that can't click on the links and do the initial study.

Active Measures is the type of warfare Russia runs on enemy nations it wants to take down without a military confrontation. Also called subversion, psychological warfare, often part of hybrid/cyber warfare. For the Russians, it’s all just warfare.

Here’s the Wikipedia take on Active Measures

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_measures

Russian military intelligence outfits (KGB, FSB, GRU, etc) have been running Active Measures campaigns in the U.S. for decades. However, the developments in internet communications technology such as big data collection/micro-targeting combined with global proliferation of social media via smartphones has changed the game for the Kremlin in a big way. They can now run a fully funded massive online influence operation without suffering much of the cost and consequences of a covert infiltration operation via an “illegals program”.

In my observations, Putin is taking his old KGB psychological warfare playbook and applying it to the mediums most Americans get their information (Facebook, Twitter, Cable News, Talk Radio, “Alternative” News outlets, and online message boards/chat rooms).

While Russia may still employ some of the old tactics like co-opting media personalities, politicians, business leaders, and journalists through bribery and/or blackmail; the online operation is massive and arguably more dangerous.

Thousands of paid/unpaid trolls and bots, hundreds of fake news websites to echo Kremlin Propaganda, cut-out front websites like InfoWars and DCLeaks, and phony Facebook accounts to spread conspiracy theories and disinformation throughout the American population.

Russian Active Measures operations are not typically partisan, they play the fringe elements on both sides of the ideological spectrum and seek to expand them into the mainstream media/politics. They do this while simultaneously pushing these fringe groups more to the extreme and favorable to Russia.

In short, it’s a old form of warfare but now it’s being applied to the internet and social media.

AKA ideological subversion, psychological warfare, hybrid warfare, cyber subversion, political warfare.

 

[Thebobo]

Interesting want to read more, brb...

 

[Hugo Stiglitz]

KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov was a recently celebrated prophetic figure by the conspiracy theorists on the right. He described the old KGB active measures playbook but mostly in the frame of how it applied to the left by pushing Marxism/Communism in the 1970s/80s.

What the right failed to realize was the KGB Playbook applies to both the right and the left simultaneously.

. The Tea Party movement gave the Russians solid roots to work in.

Back when “Kenyan Communist Obama was going to take your guns away and socialize healthcare with death panels.” <—disinformation campaign

At the same time on the left they worked in Black Lives Matter, Bernie bros, and Jill Stein. You can see that in Mueller’s indictments of the Russians.


In 1984, KGB Defector Yuri Bezmenov gave a seminar in the United States on the KGB’s playbook for bringing down enemy nations from within. Below is the seminar and my notes. Keep in mind this is the description of the old KGB Playbook.


CLIFFS-

*Every Russian student is taught subversion theory if they are thought to be dealing with foreigners is the future.*

Stage 1: Demoralization –

promote anti-establishment beliefs. Anti-religion, anti-education, anti-immigrant, anti-science, anti-media, anti-government, anti-police, anti-anything of value to the society. This acts as a substitution of moral values.

Natural ideological tendencies are greatly taken advantage of by Russian propaganda.

Goal is to destroy objective truth, facts don’t matter anymore.


Stage 2: Destabilization –

You let your target population destabilize themselves.

Radicalization begins.

Polarization occurs among family, friends, and neighbors...results in constant fighting...Compromise is impossible.

Radicalization also includes militarization.

Law and order erodes – Society becomes antagonistic within itself – divisions, fracturing.

The media puts itself in opposition to the society at large.

Divisive cultural issues come to the mainstream resulting in conflict, sometimes violently.


Stage 3: Crisis –

The government systems cannot function anymore.

Society collapses- can't function properly

Power struggle occurs.

Society is looking for a savior – some strong leader, population is sick and tired of the same old same old.

This leads to two possible outcomes:
1. Civil War
2. Invasion


Stage 4: Normalization –

The self appointed rulers don't need any revolution or radicalization anymore.

Dissidents are eliminated/suppressed.

Stability is required to then exploit the nation. No more protests/strikes.

United States had to invade Grenada to reverse the USSR normalization of the country.


Prevention-

*Laws should be put in place to prevent companies from manipulating consumers from consuming too much

*Self restraint and restoration of religion and/or sound moral principles is vital.

*Put a stop the outside propaganda actively, not violently. Doing this would prevent demoralization. Preventing the importation of foreign ideology would put a stop to the whole chain of events.

*Technology will not protect societies from the threat like religion, belief in God, a higher power, moral principles/core values.


Background information-


Russian Intelligence money, time, and man power:
10-15% Espionage
85% is Active Measures (subversion, psychological warfare)

Subversion is not a crime because of manipulation of terms/concepts.

Subversion is a two way street, you can't subvert a nation that doesn't want/allow to be subverted.

Can't subvert populations where the media is controlled by the government and the borders are closed (Japan, USSR)

Subversion can only be successful when the agent of subversion has a receptive target.

The United States is receptive of subversion.

The theory of subversion originated from Sun-Tzu over 2,500 years ago. (500 B.C.)

To implement state policy in a warlike manner, it is inefficient/foolish to do it on a battlefield.

The highest art of warfare is not to fight at all, but to subvert.

Subvert anything of value in the country of your enemy until such time that the perception of reality is so screwed up they don't percieve you as an enemy.

They enemy looks to you as an alternative where you can take them without firing a single shot.


Source material:

Yuri Bezmenov: KGB Psychological Warfare and Subversion Strategy Part 1

Yuri Bezmenov: KGB Psychological Warfare and Subversion Strategy Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-6cvuyCKbw&feature=share

 

[Bitek]

Should be an interesting thread, but perhaps a doomed one.

You describe the first step is acknowledging it's happening, meanwhile you got banned by Trumpos for discussing it.

You won't get banned here for that, but i don't expect more success against resident Trumpers.

They don't want to acknowledge. They don't want to believe. They are under the false impression that this is helping them "win" and that's all they care about.

Of course it's a trap, but they don't see what they don't want to see.

G/L

 

[Puffnstuff]

Should be an interesting thread, but perhaps a doomed one.

Well it....

.

 

[imported_tajmahal]

1. If true and accurate that a nation has targeted the United States with offensive actions.
2. Retaliate with our own offensive actions with increasing escalation of impact.
3. If a nation doesn't think we're going to retaliate, why would they stop?
4. Every option up to and including war should be on the table.

Of course all this can be danced around, played with , shown not to be necessary etc. but we should be willing to go all out MAD when we get screwed with. Nations already doing this to the US are Russia, China, N. Korea and Iran. Very likely others to a smaller extent, most with the aid and coverage of the U.N.

 

[IJTSSG]

"I have done some threads on this topic on a conservative political forum based in Texas but I got banned due to being constantly being reported as a troll by the resident trump posters."

Name the board and your user name.

I'm also curious if you're a trained intel analyst, either military, law enforcement or other government agency?

 

[Linux23]

But Trump said that this Russiar, uh Russian thing is a hoax, a witch hunt of sorts.

Jk

I like this thread. Will catch up a bit with the links you've posted. Thanks.

 

[Paratus]

"I have done some threads on this topic on a conservative political forum based in Texas but I got banned due to being constantly being reported as a troll by the resident trump posters."

Name the board and your user name.

I'm also curious if you're a trained intel analyst, either military, law enforcement or other government agency?

How about after you give us your alts.

 

[FIVR]

WITCH HUNT!

 

[IJTSSG]

How about after you give us your alts.

No problem. Here ya go:













.

 

[Hugo Stiglitz]

"I have done some threads on this topic on a conservative political forum based in Texas but I got banned due to being constantly being reported as a troll by the resident trump posters."

Name the board and your user name.

I'm also curious if you're a trained intel analyst, either military, law enforcement or other government agency?

Forum: shaggytexas. (Cloak room subforum)

User name: HugoStiglitz

I’ve never worked in the public sector but I have a strong political science background and I’ve consulted via email with some international scholars at propornot on my findings and conclusions.

http://www.propornot.com/p/the-list.html?m=1

 

[HomerJS]

1. If true and accurate that a nation has targeted the United States with offensive actions.
2. Retaliate with our own offensive actions with increasing escalation of impact.
3. If a nation doesn't think we're going to retaliate, why would they stop?
4. Every option up to and including war should be on the table.

Of course all this can be danced around, played with , shown not to be necessary etc. but we should be willing to go all out MAD when we get screwed with. Nations already doing this to the US are Russia, China, N. Korea and Iran. Very likely others to a smaller extent, most with the aid and coverage of the U.N.

Easy first start. Ruin the finances of all those Russian billionaire oligarchs. If those guys lose a large portion of their money they will do the job on Putin for us. They would probably have him killed.

 

[umbrella39]

Thanks for posting. Marked to read later...

 

[Greenman]

Sounds like the natural progression of propaganda and the fifth column. I guess the answer is to have a state run news service to protect us from this nefarious activity.

 

[soundforbjt]

Sounds like the natural progression of propaganda and the fifth column. I guess the answer is to have a state run news service to protect us from this nefarious activity.

Fox would love to fill that role.

 

[Perknose]

Name the board and your user name.

He did. Now it's your turn.

Stand up and reciprocate. Name your previous boards and usernames.

Be candid. Be honest about who you are. Don't hide in the shadows like a rat.

 

[IEC]

Internet Research Agency has been known about since ca. 2014 or prior. 99.9% of these trolls have a poor understanding of America and American politics and make obvious missteps that make it apparent they are not American. In the cases where they do succeed, it is in pitting Americans at each others' throats, including organizing competing pro-Trump and anti-Trump rallies around the time of the inauguration.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/kevincolli...ke-account-run?utm_term=.rh62jo2ej#.gpgPylPay
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/17/technology/indictment-russian-tech-facebook.html

Make no mistake, the Russians will do anything they can to weaken the United States. But it is in fanning the flames of partisanship where the Russians are and were most successful. Because hyper-partisanship makes people blind to obvious propaganda.

 

[IJTSSG]

He did. Now it's your turn.

Stand up and reciprocate. Name your previous boards and usernames.

Be candid. Be honest about who you are. Don't hide in the shadows like a rat.

When I start a thread on this forum claiming to be an expert on some topic and declaring I'm going to keep everyone informed, I will declare my verifiable bona fides for all to see.

When I claim on this message board I have been thrown off another, I will post my username and the board.

Someone already asked about alt identities. I answered his question. You're a mod, am I logging in with more than one account?

I haven't done anything to you. You can keep your coward innuendo to yourself.

 

[Linux23]

mod callout.

 

[imported_tajmahal]

Easy first start. Ruin the finances of all those Russian billionaire oligarchs. If those guys lose a large portion of their money they will do the job on Putin for us. They would probably have him killed.

Sounds good to me.

 

[zinfamous]

Make the world's vodka supplies unpalatable with several tactical radium bombs.

Problem solved.

 

[zinfamous]

Sounds good to me.

yeah but it was bad when Obama did it.